Rev:Hearty Minestrone with Barley, Sage and Beans - CL Jan/Feb '07

[zackaboo]

I made this today for a hot and healthy lunch. We really liked it. I didn't have fresh sage or thyme so I subbed the dried herbs. I also probably had about 4 T of bacon instead of the the 2 that the recipe calls for because I only had 3 strips left in the freezer and wanted to use it all up. It smelled really good while it was cooking and made for a nice comforting meal. Nothing fancy but we enjoyed this and I would definitely make it again.

Hearty Minestrone with Barley, Sage, and Beans
From


Chill the bacon to make it easier to chop finely. For a special treat, top each serving with one tablespoon grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups finely chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery (about 1 stalk)
1/4 cup finely chopped carrot (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (about 4)
2 tablespoons finely chopped applewood-smoked bacon (about 1 ounce)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups finely chopped Savoy cabbage
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups peeled Yukon gold potato (about 1 medium), cut into (1/2-inch) cubes
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 8 ingredients (through garlic); sauté 5 minutes. Add cabbage and next 5 ingredients (through cannellini beans); bring to a boil. Stir in potato and barley. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in green beans; cook 5 minutes.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 140(16% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 0.7g,mono 1.2g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 6.2g; CHOLESTEROL 2mg; CALCIUM 51mg; SODIUM 473mg; FIBER 5.3g; IRON 1.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.3g

Micol Negrin
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2007

[knunes]

That sounds very comforting! With the cold that I have, I wish I had some right now!

[zackaboo]

That sounds very comforting! With the cold that I have, I wish I had some right now!

If you were just a little closer... Hope you feel better soon!

[Peggy]

We had this earlier in the week and have been having the leftovers for lunch since. It was filling and satisfying but I felt it was missing something flavorwise. I'm not sure what I was looking for - perhaps more seasoning of some kind. I used the fresh sage and thyme and substituted regular cabbage for the Savoy. A good, solid soup recipe; just not a "WOW" in my book.

Peggy

[cookin_healthy]

I've made this soup three times now, at DH's request. Very comforting flavor and very filling, I think. It will be a regular at my house. We both think the flavor is excellent. I did use the fresh herbs, I used regular cabbage , chick peas, and I have also been using ww spaghetti noodles instead of the barley.

[Beth H]

I made this last night and loved it. I used good applewood smoked bacon which imparted a wonderful flavor to the soup. Just hearty and comforting. I definitely will make this again.